HerStory, Cholpori premiere ‘Char Ronger Basha’

“Char Ranger Basha,” a short stop-motion animation on the four principles of the Bangladesh constitution, premiered on a live streamed webinar on Friday.

The webinar was inaugurated Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni.

Dr Dipu Moni said: “This stop motion animation highlights the four pillars of the constitution using language, style and a medium that is adapted for children. In this age of digital learning, I believe that children’s learning needs need to be curated in a manner that the content we provide is enjoyable and easily comprehensible.

“Education shouldn’t always be about tests or exams, but rather, about how to raise a morally sound, responsible and sensitive human being, like the Father of the Nation envisioned for the next generation,” she added.

The principles of democracy, secularism, socialism and nationalism are illustrated in the animation through colourful metaphors and symbols for children.

Guest of Honour and member of parliament Asaduzzaman Noor said: “If we can educate our children with enjoyable, engaging content – they will naturally take to that information. It is vital that we help teach our children the correct history of our nation, to tell them the stories of the birth of our nation to help them gain a sense of identity. 

“Animations like this will help depict the essence of our nation, and our identity in a way that children can appreciate, enjoy and remember,” he added.

Animators Saiq’a S Chowdhury and Amit Ashraf discussed their efforts to make the video in a short time frame. Guest of Honor Tina F Jabeen, investment advisor of Startup Bangladesh, stressed on the importance of digital content, and shared her thoughts on creating a learning portal for children that would contain quality content on the history of the nation and other matters.

Zareen Mahmud Hosein, founder and ED of HerStory Foundation, said: “We are honoured to be able to create this animation to commemorate the month of mourning, and to have the support of the government, Start Up Bangladesh and the ICT division in our endeavour to provide quality, child-friendly content that takes teaching and learning to a new level. We hope to take both HerStory and Cholpori to new heights, redefining how children learn.”

Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, Dr Nasreen Ahmad, former pro-VC of Dhaka University, and NM Zeaul Alam, senior secretary of the ICT Division, were also present at the webinar as guests of honour.

The animation is created using clay in a stop-motion style and voiced by Asaduzzaman Noor. Produced by CholPori and HerStory Foundation, it was created by Ogopogo Studios and Kazi House Productions. 

Special support and assistance was provided by Tofail Ahmed, MP, Mashiur Rahman, economic advisor, and Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, former governor of Bangladesh Bank.